Last night at the Bluebird Nightclub in Bloomington, Indiana, a real “true to its roots” Hip Hop show went down, sending the message loud and clear that Hoosiers really do love their Hip Hop. Starting off with local Indy crew, Outfit, it was clear from the start that this was a no bulls**t, no fluff, back to the beginning kind of night, and the crowd couldn’t have been more pleased. Next up New York emcee Skyzoo, along with fellow rapper Torrae, hyped up the crowd with some old school beats and tracks from Skyzoo’s debut album, The Salvation, like “The Beautiful Decay” and “Popularity”. Before Ghostface hit the stage, I got the opportunity to sit down with Skyzoo and get a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a rapper on the road.
Skyzoo started touring on Oct. 28th in Aspen and has already done shows in Denver, Chicago, Cleveland and Columbus, but this was his first time ever in Bloomington. Only a week and a half into touring, Sky said that his favorite part about being on the road so far is, “being able to go to different cities, see how people reaction to each track, and experience diversity,” and that although touring is a great experience, “being away from home,” for too long is definitely hard on the heart. Getting in the music, Skyzoo described his latest CD, The Salvation, as a, “concept album inspired by how different people overcome temptations in their lives, how people deal with ups and downs, what they give in to, and what saves them.” For him, “music is [his] salvation”. Influenced by artists like Biggie, Jay-Z, Nas, John Coltrane, J Dilla, 9th Wonder, and Chi Ali, Sky said that it wasn’t until he heard the Native Tongues Movement that he truly knew he wanted to be a rapper. If given the opportunity, Skyzoo would like to collaborate with, “The Clipse, Mab Lib, Mos Def, and Jay-Z.” Definitely go check out his album and be on the look out for, “more touring, some shows with Raekwon, and new music, maybe some mixtapes and some remixes heading your way.”
Back to the main event…Ghostface Killah was now in the house and ready to share with us a little something he called “vintage Hip Hop.” Without hesitation, Ironman, Pretty Tony, or whatever you want to call him, jumped on stage in his oversized Champion hoodie and sweat pants and in a thick New York accent asked the crowd, “How many of ya’ll into real Hip Hop? Not that sucka s**t that be going on right now- vintage Hip Hop?” The perfect segway into an unreal set, Ghostface started playing some old school Wu-Tang and asked the audience, “How many of ya’ll bought the first Wu-Tang album?” Many people raised their hands and applauded but one cat standing right behind me actually brought the very first album, cover in tact and all, straight up to the stage. Ghostface picked it up, looked down at it, looked up at the crowd with a sense of pride and held it up in the air for every one to see. He then performed some tracks off his solo album along with “Cream”, “Back Like That” and “Whip You with a Strap”. Paying his respects to the late great king of pop, Michael Jackson, Ghost played a medley of MJ classic as well as “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” for his old friend and original Wu-Tang Clan member, Ol’ Dirty Bastard. He played a couple more tracks from his solo album, and then Ghostface and crew got everyone to raise two fingers in the air, started counting down from 3, and got everyone to say “PEACE” at the same time. It was a great show and a great night for Hip Hop.